Quick Summary:

Date Tested: 9/25/2024

In this Coppertone water babies SPF 50 sunscreen lotion review, I find a very poor performing sunscreen which is due to its very low viscosity (Thanks for the sample Jacob)! Also, yes, I realize how I have been MIA these past few months, and need to get back up to speed on these sunscreen posts (I currently have 15 sunscreen waiting to be posted!). I do have a valid excuse though, I have been working through my surgical technology program (halfway through), and have decided to continue my studies to go to nursing school since I scored a 94.7% on the ATI TEAS. Well, might as well try I suppose. Anyways, on to the review!

**UPDATE 6/14/2025**
This post has been generating a few questions related to how Consumer Reports and my results differ. I have addressed this in this post here. For a sanity check, I have also done another quick test dated 6/13/2025 on the same product (with sunscreen expiration date of 05/2026), and noticed even worse results. Upon first insertion into the testing machine, the detected UVI was 7.9 from a baseline of 24.9 (~68% blocking effectiveness), yet after 13 minutes or so, the detected UVI was 18.10 (~18% blocking effectiveness). The protective nature of the formula just gets worse as it settles. The recently tested sample slide also exhibited the very uneven distribution similar to the one from the 2024 test shown below. So what can I say? I think for sure there is something weird going on with CR reports results as if this was used in a hot tub environment, I’m pretty sure the Water Babies SPF 50 protectiveness would break down quite a bit. But hey, I’m just a stay at home dad trying to go back into the work force (I start clinicals as a surgical technologist this Monday!).

The Coppertone water babies SPF 50 sunscreen lotion is a chemical sunscreen formulation using the active ingredients of Avobenzone at 3%, Homosalate at 9%, Octisalate at 4.5%, and Octocrylene at 9%.

The Coppertone water babies SPF 50 sunscreen lotion only blocked 36.76% of irradiated UVA, filtered 29.70% UVB, and reduced 36.34% of total UVI.

Coppertone water babies SPF 50 sunscreen lotion characteristics at a glance:

• Broad spectrum UVA/UVB protection
• Hypoallergenic
• Pediatrician tested
• Photostable
• Water resistant (80 min)
  
• Viscosity is low.

---

Coppertone water babies SPF 50 sunscreen lotion UV blocking test results

Ultraviolet light quick reference:

UVA: The Ultraviolet wavelength from 315nm – 400nm. The “Aging UV light” – Causes wrinkles.
UVB: The Ultraviolet wavelength from 280nm – 315nm. The “Bad UV light” – Causes skin cancer.
UVI: The global sun UV index. The more a sunscreen can reduce the level of UVI, the better.

---

UV test results:

Ultraviolet sensor readings:

Want to know more about how I test sunscreen? Head here to read about the details.

Testing notes:

I would not recommend this product for any babies, nor would I recommend this product for any human. It is just too runny.